Kingsnake keepers-- a little help please???

[Lori P]

Thanks Reed. :-) And thanks for holding Curious and Reed for me for a few more days!!!! :-)

[drache]

very lovely snakes you got yourself there, Lori
make sure the king has sufficient heat and hiding spots
ask the people you got him from how they fed him - did they leave leave something in his cage? did they wave it in front of his nose?
also make sure that he's otherwise healthy
find out when he last shed
get as much info about him as you can

[sschind]

Nice snakes Lori but I' have one problem.

Unless that is a very bad picture, that does not look like an apricot Pueblan to me. Apricots have orange highlights and an overall orangish look to the white bands and and orange cast to the red areas.

apricotpueblan1.jpg

this is not a good picture and the animal is getting ready to shed but I think you can see the orange tint to the white areas. It is possible that the photograph you posted doesn't show the true colors of the snake and if so I retract my statement. I do notice that the area that would be white in an exceptional normal specimen does have sort of a yellowish tinge this does not make it an apricot however. Just a low quality normal I have two of them that look a lot more yellow than that and they are considered normals, at least by me. Anyway, that is my take on Pueblans. If anyone cares to post different pictures or to enlighten me on the characteristics of apricots I welcome the information.

[sschind]

OK, a little clarification is needed. I made the post about the apricot Pueblan and I stand by that. The part that I edited (completely removed actually) was a little rant about selling non feeders but I failed to see in the picture the N/E which I assume to mean non eating so my rant was uncalled for. The editing had nothing to do with the Apricot Pueblan and the picture I was referring to in my reason for editing was the picture of the kingsnake in the deli.

Sorry if this causes any confusion, and my explanation will probably be even more confusing.

[MoJo]

I agree about the Pueblan. It is a beautiful snake but I am not sure it should be called an apricot. Here is a photo of my new 07 Apricot Pueblan in shed! He is not the best specimen but I love his oranges.



As to the kingsnake, I would leave her be for a few days and then try a live pinky. She might like the movement. If not I think the garter scenting should work well.

Good Luck

Joanna

[Lori P]

Originally Posted by sschind

Nice snakes Lori but I' have one problem.

Unless that is a very bad picture, that does not look like an apricot Pueblan to me. Apricots have orange highlights and an overall orangish look to the white bands and and orange cast to the red areas.

Thanks for the info! I *think* what I may have is kind of a low quality apricot, lol, and I only say this because the man who had them--Brant was his name-- had a couple of apricots he was showing me, who had much more orangy color to them. However, for some reason, I kept going back and picking up this one, who was off to the side. I just liked her! :-) And she is def. a lot less orangy. I will try to get more pics once she settles in. But if it turns out she's not an apricot at all, I'm happy with her-- she is not for breeding. :-)

[Lori P]

Originally Posted by sschind

OK, a little clarification is needed. I made the post about the apricot Pueblan and I stand by that. The part that I edited (completely removed actually) was a little rant about selling non feeders but I failed to see in the picture the N/E which I assume to mean non eating so my rant was uncalled for. The editing had nothing to do with the Apricot Pueblan and the picture I was referring to in my reason for editing was the picture of the kingsnake in the deli.

Sorry if this causes any confusion, and my explanation will probably be even more confusing.

No confusion... Brant was VERY open about the fact that she was not feeding. And he gave me a lot of tips to try, it's just that... well, he told me to "brain" a live pinky and try that for a while. Guys, I can't do it!!!!!!! If that's what it takes to get her feeding, I will HAVE to find someone else to do it... I don't want the snake to die, but omg, the thought of stabbing a baby mouse in the brain makes me sick and teary. He said you don't kill the baby, you stick it and let it squirm... I just can't, what if that causes horrid pain to that baby?????

There were several people at the expo who had tubs of "non-feeders" for very cheap prices. If they are all as open as Brant, and offering lots of tips (he also told me to call/email him anytime for advice) do you think it's still a bad idea to sell them? I'm just curious as to your opinion, so rant away. :-) :-)

[Lori P]

And Joanna, LOVELY snake!!!!!!!!!!!! His others were def. that coloring-- I just picked the light one because she was calling to me.... :-)

[Lori P]

OH--- MY---- HEAVENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok-- I am calm-- I am breathing--

So I go first thing to check the babies this morning and the king is busy climbing all over...

And the milk is nowhere to be seen. No problem, she has lots of hides. So I start looking... and looking... and looking. I start taking out hides. I start digging thru the substrate. I start PANICKING. I took EVERYTHING out of the tank. She is GONE!!!!!

Ok, I admit, I kind of started sniveling and calling for Jamie. He comes over and re-looks through everything. I am raving on about what a dumba$$ I am, I lost the baby, she's going to die, how could I be SO irresponsible...

And Jamie suddenly says, calm down, look, I found her.

So... in the tank I have this:



And HERE is where Jamie finds her!!!! Can you spot her?? I sure would have never!!!!!!!!



So all is well... can someone please remind me WHY I love snakes??????

[MoJo]

Congrats on finding her! Thanks for the nice words on Carmello.

I have never heard of braining a live piny - I think most people would find that cruel too. Has he already tried live? If not I still think that would be the first thing I would try. If she is roaming that much I would think she is hungry and looking for food!

Jo